Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2004 08:19:44 +0100 From: Grunff <grunffnospam.com> Subject: Re: hard to get into gear
Hans Lellelid wrote: > I have a question about the transmission on my '91 900S. I just got > this car recently (and have been avidly reading the newsgroup archives) > and it's my first manual transmission car. I don't have a very good > frame of reference clearly, but overall I would say it takes a lot of > work to get it from one gear into another. I saw Grunff describe the > transmission as "agricultural" which made me laugh; that's a good > description. > > But that's just an observation, not really the problem. The problem is > that sometimes it is next to impossible to get it into first or second > from standstill -- and shifting from first to second is always extremely > demanding & always rough. Also I often have to sit in the parking lot > wrestling with it to get it into reverse -- usually shifting into 3rd > and then down into reverse helps, but it could still be a number of > tries before it works. (Actually, the reverse lockout is > broken/disabled on my car so I could leave it in first and pull the keys > out, but my mechanic suggested I use reverse.) > > I'm wondering what this problem might be -- and if I should expect > expensive repairs around the corner. Especially for someone without > much shifting experience it can be frustrating to think that you've > gotten it into first only to discover it actually isn't fully in first > when the light turns green. Maybe a Saab 900 wasn't the best choice for > learning to drive manual :) There are two things which are most likely to be causing your problems. First off, it sounds like the clutch may be dragging. How does the pedal feel? Do you feel resistance right at the top of the pedal travel? Where is the clutch 'bite' point along the pedal travel? It should be roughly in the middle. If it's right at the bottom then it means the clutch isn't fully disengaging. This could be because of a worn mechanical linkage, or because of air in the hydraulics. The second thing, which I think is very likely in your case is that the link between the gear shifter and the gearbox is misaligned. Aligning this is fairly straightforward, no special tools required. It would be very useful to you if you had a manual - the Haynes or the Bentley (both Amazon). -- Grunff
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
